Brianne stands glowering in front of the priest, her curvy body decently covered by the layers and layers of fabric that goes into a noblewoman's wedding gown, her long fall of brown hair covered by the headpiece and veil. Sneaking a look at her soon to be husband, as the priest drones on and on about the sanctity of marriage, she again thinks about running off. If she could think of somewhere to go, if she had anywhere to go, she might do it and forget the guilt of leaving her aging and destitute mother.
But she can't do that. Their family 's money is all gone and that's why she's been sold off to Lord Michael Blackwell, just like so many girls her age, married to advantage rather than for love. Not for the first time, Brianne wishes she was a common peasant. She'd always been much happier outside, riding, walking, and she wouldn't be getting married now, at the tender age of 18, to this dark and forbidding man whom she knows nothing about and who doesn't seem to want her.
The marriage is to his advantage too, marrying into a Duke's family and taking all their lands - and all their debts, but Lord Michael Blackwell has plenty of money, she thinks sneeringly to herself, what he's after is power.
Sullenly Brianne goes through the motions of the day, speaking her vows obediently, sitting quietly by her new husband during the wedding feast, all of it a muddied mess that she forces herself to plod through, feeling that her life is probably over. Marriage is the end to freedom, as far as she sees it, and she has no doubt that her new husband will keep her locked up in his fine house, that she will have to take over the duties of running it, making sure he's fed, clothed, cared for, and her days of riding and basking in the sunshine are over.
Lord Michael looks down at his new bride with some displeasure. He had come to the wedding today barely remembering what she looked like, although he remembered that she had beautiful hair, but, along with all of the other features that might interest him, it is covered with thick swathes of fabric. Her face wouldn't be so bad, he muses, if she didn't look so blankly disinterested in everything going on around her. Just his luck to be stuck with a prudish ice queen for a wife, he can't detect a single spark of life in her. Today is a day to be got through, he would do his duty as a husband and then they could keep the conjugal visits to a minimum, especially if he can get her with child quickly.
The ladies whisk Brianne away, to ready her for her wedding night. The men surround Michael, congratulating him and joking about how he may need to light a fire in their room, even on this hot summer night, in order to thaw out his new wife. Although their observations on his new wife's demeanor is in line with his own, he can't help but feel a little humiliated. After all, he's one of the most eligible bachelors in the country, only ten years older than her, lean body, tall, and he's had enough women come after him to know that at least some of them find him attractive.
Feeling slightly drunk, humiliated and angered, Michael finds his way to the bedchamber, where Brianne is waiting for him.
Like a dark storm he blows in through the door, and then stops, staring.
"What?" she says waspishly, covering her unease and fear with anger. She pulls herself straight, thrusting her breasts towards him without realizing it. "Do I not please my Lord? Perhaps my Lord should have inspected the goods before he bought them." Michael feels a small smile begin to play on his lips, his anger and humiliation washing off like rain water as cock stirs slightly. Is this the woman he thought cold and indifferent? There's plenty of life in her now.
More than that, with her wedding dress off, standing in her nearly transparent night shift, hair unbound and falling nearly to her waist in soft waves, her body itself would inspire lust in him, even if she had remained as silent and cold as she had been all day. Soft, lush curves are clearly visible through the billowy material, a hint of rosy nipples on her breasts, a hint of darkness at the apex of her thighs.
Brianne trembles, feeling his eyes rake her up and down, in a way no man ever has. She feels naked, as though he can see through the shift she's wearing, and maybe even through her. Feeling rejected, and strangely angry at the rejection, as he makes no move towards her, but only assesses her with his eyes, pricks her anger even further.
"Say something," she hisses at him, her fists clenching. Michael raises an eyebrow at her. He finds that he likes her off balance, unsure. She's gone from being a block of ice to a fiery brand, and he finds himself wanting to draw this moment out, to see what else she's made of, instead of just doing his duty and leaving.
"Come," he closes the door and turns towards her, shrugging off his jacket. "Help me undress."
The blood drains from Brianne's face, she looks to her right and left, as if searching for a way to escape. Half of her anger has been pure bravado. She has no idea what to expect from tonight other than it's supposed to hurt, and she wishes that he would just get it over with and leave her, so that she can sleep and hope to wake up to find that this entire day has been a dream.
"No," she says suddenly.
"No?" echoes Michael, his hands suddenly stilling on the ties to his shirt, looking up at her across the room. For just a moment he feels some pity for her, her eyes are so wide and frightened looking, but then they narrow in defiance.